Question: What is up with Jeremy Goldstein’s cowboy hat? Isn’t he a real estate developer or something? Why is he wearing a cowboy hat in his campaign billboard for City Council?

My answer: I'm fine with the hat, but Goldstein sitting astride a stallion during debates has been a bit much.

Real answer: Goldstein is not exactly from the Wild West.

A native of New Jersey, Goldstein moved to Asheville in 1999, in part at the urging of his wife, Heather, an Asheville native. He is in the commercial real estate business, the co-founder of G/M Property Group.

But the cowboy hat is not some sort of political gimmick.

"Anybody who knows me knows that I wear this hat," said Goldstein, 45.

It has been a great conversation starter.

"When I got in the race, I though the first question I would get is, 'Why are you running?'" Goldstein said. "But it's not. It's, 'So what’s up the cowboy hat?' I’ve been wearing this cowboy hat for 25 years."

It's an Akubra, by the way, a hat made Down Under. In his junior year of college, Goldstein studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Asheville City Councilman candidate Jeremy Goldstein says he's been wearing this Australian cowboy hat for 25 years.(Photo11: John Boyle/jboyle@citizen-times.com)

"I’ve got two older brothers and my dad, and we all knew we were going to be bald, based on my mom’s father and all of her brothers," Goldstein said. "So I was like, 'These are the coolest hats ever,' so I got a hat for myself, my dad and my two brothers. Whenever we go out to any events and we’re together, we all wear them."

Indeed, I caught Goldstein and his dad, Robert, wearing their Akubras Saturday night at the Western Gala of the Democratic Party.

As far as the billboard off I-240 in West Asheville, Goldstein said the picture came from his campaign kickoff when someone snapped a candid shot of him in the hat.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he wants Mission and Blue Cross to settle their dispute.(Photo11: Chuck Burton, AP)

Question: Since you always seem to need something to write about, why not "investigate" as to why Roy Cooper hasn't tried to broker some mediation between the subject companies?

My answer: How dare you suggest I do actual work.

Real answer: I asked Gov. Cooper about the dispute after his speech at the Western Gala Saturday night, and Cooper said he is concerned and wants to make sure "patients get the health coverage they deserve.

"If this dispute cannot be settled, then obviously patients are going to end up suffering," Cooper said. "So I’m hoping they will continue their negotiations and work this out, and I’m going to encourage that. And I certainly will look to see if there’s anything we can do from a governmental perspective."

In late September, I noted that the North Carolina Department of Insurance said it has no role in the dispute, as the entities are companies and not state players.

"This whole issue falls outside of our scope," said Colin Day, assistant director of public information for the N.C. DOI. "It's not our responsibility to help businesses get through their negotiations. It’s up to the two parties at hand — it's their responsibility to work it out."

When I pressed Cooper on that and what the state can do, he said, "I’ll look to see what we can do. We’ve encouraged them to try to work this out, and we think it’s important to do that."

The agreement between Blue Cross Blue Shield and Mission Hospital expired Oct. 5, leaving about 260,000 Western North Carolina residents "out of network" if they get care from Mission facilities and providers. Mission Health employs about one-fifth of the physicians in the mountains and operates seven hospitals in the region.

Emergency care is not out of network, and some exceptions are being made for continuing care.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com